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Teacher suspended after students re-enact Ferguson shooting

Teacher suspended after students re-enact Ferguson shooting

A man stands in the street during a protest Monday, Aug. 18, 2014, for Michael Brown, who was killed by a police officer Aug. 9 in Ferguson, Mo. Brown's shooting has sparked more than a week of protests, riots and looting in the St. Louis suburb. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Teacher suspended after students re-enact Ferguson shooting

FILE - In this Aug. 13, 2014 file photo, a man watches as police walk through a cloud of smoke during a clash with protesters in Ferguson, Mo. The response to Browns death turned violent because of a convergence of factors, observers said. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

Teacher suspended after students re-enact Ferguson shooting

FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2014 file photo, a law enforcement officer watches from an armored vehicle after a device was fired to disperse a crowd during a protest for Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Mo. The response to Browns death turned violent because of a convergence of factors, observers said. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Teacher suspended after students re-enact Ferguson shooting

FILE - In this Aug. 11, 2014 file photo, police wearing riot gear walk toward a man with his hands raised in Ferguson, Mo. The response to Browns death turned violent because of a convergence of factors, observers said. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

Teacher suspended after students re-enact Ferguson shooting

FILE - In this In this Aug. 19, 2014 file photo, people watch protesters from inside a restaurant during a rally for Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. The response to Browns death turned violent because of a convergence of factors, observers said. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Teacher suspended after students re-enact Ferguson shooting

Police guard the entrance to the Buzz Westfall Justice Center in Clayton, Mo., Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, where a grand jury is expected to convene to consider possible charges against the Ferguson, Mo. police officer who fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown. Brown's shooting in the middle of a street has sparked a more than week of protests, riots and looting in the St. Louis suburb. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Teacher suspended after students re-enact Ferguson shooting

Police advance to clear people Monday, Aug. 18, 2014, during a protest for Michael Brown, who was killed by a police officer Aug. 9 in Ferguson, Mo. Brown's shooting has sparked more than a week of protests, riots and looting in the St. Louis suburb. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Teacher suspended after students re-enact Ferguson shooting

Protesters walk through a cloud of tear gas Monday, Aug. 18, 2014, in Ferguson, Mo. The Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown by police has touched off rancorous protests in Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb where police have used riot gear and tear gas. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Teacher suspended after students re-enact Ferguson shooting

People run from tear gas after police dispersed a crowd Sunday, Aug. 17, 2014, as they staged a protest for Michael Brown, who was killed by a police officer last Saturday in Ferguson, Mo. As night fell Sunday in Ferguson, another peaceful protest quickly deteriorated after marchers pushed toward one end of a street. Police attempted to push them back by firing tear gas and shouting over a bullhorn that the protest was no longer peaceful. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

The Selma Times-Journal quoted Dallas County School Superintendent Don Willingham as saying the social studies teacher used poor judgment during a lesson on current events.

School officials haven’t identified the teacher, who teaches at Brantley Elementary School.

Administrators were alerted to the Ferguson re-enactment this week after the mother of a student in the class posted a complaint on Facebook. The Missouri city has been wracked by protests since a police officer fatally shot an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown.

Willingham said his investigation showed the teacher told students to research and re-enact a current event of their choosing. The students picked the killings of Brown and Trayvon Martin, fatally shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer in 2012, he said.

Students used paper guns and bullets, and students portraying victims fell on pillows, he said.

Willingham said the teacher “made a mistake” in judgment by having students re-enact the shootings.

“There are consequences that we have for it, but that does not change our opinion of her as a teacher,” he said.

It’s not clear exactly how the shootings were re-enacted since the exact circumstances of each death are in question. Willingham said students told him they were giggling and laughing during the reenactment.

Willingham declined to reveal the length of the suspension, but he said the school anticipates the teacher returning to the classroom.

“We are looking forward to her return,” Willingham said. “We’re excited about the rest of the school year.”

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